Smoke can be used to control bees when bee keepers need to access the hive. Bee keepers have used bee smokers for centuries to create smoke for this purpose. Conventional bee smokers are hand-held devices that generally include a metal can with a lid, a spout, and a handle. A fire is started in the can using any materials that will burn to generate smoke. A pump can be used to bring air to the fire and to eject the smoke, which exits through the spout.
A drawback with conventional bee smokers is that the fire must be burning at all times in order for smoke to be available. If the fire goes out, the bee keeper must re-light the fire, during which time no smoke will be available to control bees. In addition, a constantly burning fire produces smoke and heat even when not needed.
More recently attempts have been made to address some of the shortcomings of conventional bee smokers. For example, a pending U.S. patent application, Publication No. 20050262756, entitled Portable Vapor Bee Smoker, uses a heating source to heat vapor with liquid smoke, which is used as a smoke substitute. However, Publication No. 20050262756 does not disclose the use of actual smoke. Therefore, a need exists for a bee smoker that reliably, easily, and safely produces smoke on demand without the need for continually maintaining a fire in the housing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved bee smoker.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hand-held bee smoker that produces smoke on demand without requiring the continual burning of a fire.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bee smoker in which heat and smoke are not generated when not needed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bee smoker which is reliable, safe, and easy to use.